


Zootopia: Stealing Partners

by VariableMammal



Series: Zootopia: Partners [4]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Gen, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6811981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VariableMammal/pseuds/VariableMammal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are assigned a somewhat-old case from another member of the ZPD, against the latter's will. Is it already too late to solve it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zootopia: Stealing Partners

-Zootopia Police Department Headquarters, 8:07 AM-  
  
  
    Judy Hopps sat on her chair in the briefing room next to Nick Wilde, listening for Chief Bogo to call out their assignment. He always tended to wait till they were nearly the last ones left to call them, which made her a bit antsy.  
  
    "Alright, I'm making a bit of a change, here," Chief Bogo said, staring at a case file from behind his glasses. Judy felt a small stab of anxiety. "Officer Coonson, I'm taking you off of the Reddish robbery case. I need you on the footage of the serial robber that's been violently attacking those pawn shops of late." Judy looked at officer Jeffrey Coonson. He was a brown-eyed raccoon, the second mammal Chief Bogo had been assigned from the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. His face read displeasure at having his assignment changed. "Hopps, Wilde. You two pick up this case." Chief Bogo shook the case file in his hand and Nick went to pick it up while Judy was still looking at Coonson. "Dismissed!"  
  
    The mammals began to file out of the briefing room, and soon only Coonson, Nick and Judy were left. Coonson was grumbling to himself.  
  
    "I can't believe he took me off of the Reddish case," Coonson started, sucking his teeth. His voice had a small bit of a city accent to it and a hint of gravel. "Bet it's cause I'm a raccoon."  
  
    "What do you mean by that, Coonson?" Asked Nick, folding his arms.  
  
    "You know, raccoons," Coonson indicated his black-furred mask around his eyes. "We're always getting called thieves. We were one of the first mammals to evolve these, after all." He wiggled his thumbs. "So mammals think we got the predisposition to steal things."  
  
    "You think Chief Bogo took you off the case for _that_?" Judy narrowed one eye. "But he just put you on another robbery case!"  
  
    "Yeah, one where I'll be 'hands off,'" Coonson made air quotes. He shook his head. "Don't act like the Chief's some kinda saint. I heard about the hard time he gave you when you were startin' out, Hopps."  
  
    "Er, that is true, but it's been about two years since then," Judy pondered, "besides, you're a raccoon on the police force!"  
  
    "I bet it wasn't his choice," Coonson said, flicking his arm up near his head, "and you know leopards don't change their spots. See ya." He left the room.  
  
    Judy sighed. "Well Nick, what have we gotten ourselves into today?"  
  
    "Vivian Reddish," Nick started, looking at the case file. "No picture. Lives in a house in Savanna Central, somewhat close to Mezzo park. Got robbed, hm, handwriting's hard to read."  
  
    "So much for those raccoon thumbs being steady or anything," Judy joked as she shrugged her shoulders with her hands at her sides. Nick rolled his eyes.  
  
    "From what I can make out, entry was gained from the second floor, not too many items took, rings, of unknown value?" Nick shook his head. "Doesn't look like Coonson got very far."  
  
    "Let's just head over to her house and see what we can see," Judy beckoned.  
  


* * *

 

  
-Meadow Street, Vivian's House, 9:17 AM-  
  
  
    "Wow," Judy said, pulling up to the modestly-sized, two story house of Vivian Reddish. "To actually own a _house_ in Zootopia, Savanna Central especially."  
  
    "I know," Nick grinned. "She's got to be some old, loaded mammal. Crotchety. Probably widowed. Angry that she's missing even a thousandth of her fortune."  
  
    The two started to exit Judy's police cruiser. "I wonder if Coonson was right about why he got taken off this."  
  
    "Well, he sure didn't make any headway," Nick shrugged, "but he's a _police officer_. You, of all people, should know better than to cast suspicion on him based on his species."  
  
    "Just because you're a police officer doesn't mean you're above suspicion, Nicholas," Judy had her arms out. "Remember those rams?"  
  
    "Okay, let's stop talking before you say something about Coonson you regret, Carrots," Nick rolled his eyes, knocking on the door.  
  
    "Who is it?" A pleasant voice called out from the door before too long.  
  
    "Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, ZPD," Judy said loudly, "just want to talk to you, ma'am."  
  
    The door opened and Nick's eyes widened slightly. On the other side was a red fox vixen very slightly shorter than he was. She had nice blue eyes, a kind face, and modest, softly-colored yellow and blue clothing. Judy smiled.  
  
    "I'm Vivian Reddish," she introduced, "ah, is this about my stolen items?"  
  
    "Yes, we've been assigned to the case," Judy nodded enthusiastically.  
  
    "Is that raccoon officer okay?" Vivian tilted her head.  
  
    "He got moved to another case, ma'am," Nick confirmed.  
  
    "Oh, please don't call me ma'am," Vivian giggled, "I'm only twenty-six. Miss, if you must..."  
  
    "Can we come in, miss?" Judy smiled.  
  
    "Um, of course! I was just about to leave for work; I usually open at about ten today," Vivian turned around to let them in. Judy shot Nick a narrow-eyed, smirking look that he understood to say "old, crotchety mammal, huh?" Nick returned a stern look that Judy knew meant "don't start." Judy giggled very softly.  
  
    "So!" Judy said in a peppy voice. "Where do you work, then?"  
  
    "At Mezzo Park," Vivian nodded. Her house was a bit of a mess inside from the robbery, but it still had a strange sort of elegance to it. "I have a fruit stand there. I sell frozen drinks, usually. Seven days a week! I keep a kind of strange schedule though, some days earlier, some days just for the hot hours of the day... er- I'm rambling, aren't I?" She seemed a bit nervous.  
  
    "A fruit stand, huh?" Nick looked around at the house. "And you live in a nice place like this?"  
  
    "Oh! Well, um," Vivian giggled. "The Reddish family comes from a very long and somewhat prosperous line of farmers. We started as the Radish family, actually, and it became Reddish when our lineage moved from vegetables to fruits. We mostly lived in Bunnyburrow, actually."  
  
    "Oh right, right!" Judy nodded, giving a snap of her furry fingers. "The Reddish Orchards, I've seen those! I'm from Bunnyburrow, too."  
  
    Vivian gave a soft giggle, nodding. "Those are the ones! My parents actually moved down here to Zootopia to try the big city life. They had a fruit shop storefront here. But, they got bored of the bustle after a time and went back to Bunnyburrow, feeling a calling to their roots. They left me the house. I still like it here. So many interesting animals to talk to; that's why I just operate a fruit stand, I love animal-watching in the park... and uh, I'm boring you." She flashed her teeth in apology.  
  
    Nick shook his head; Judy didn't know if it was to say no or if he was breaking a trance. "Oh no, not at all, miss. So what exactly was stolen from you?"  
  
    "Oh, just one thing, er, seven things," Vivian took out her phone and scrolled to a picture, showing them a small brown treasure box that had seven gold rings in it. "These seven rings have been in my family for longer than any of us can remember! Right as we took the Reddish name, I think. One of my ancestors commissioned these seven rings; each one has a gem in a different color of the rainbow, representing a different fruit. I was so in love with them as a kit; I couldn't wait till I inherited them. Used to wear a different one each day of the week at my stand..." She looked somewhat sad.  
  
    Judy looked at her case file. "According to this we never heard how much exactly they're worth?"  
  
    "Oh! I have no idea!" Vivian giggled. "I've never had them appraised; I'd never sell them! They're just too sentimental to me."  
  
    "All right, when exactly were you robbed?" Nick wondered.  
  
    "Um, it was about two weeks ago, now," Vivian recalled. "It happened in the evening. I was away, I had just come home, taken off my ring for the day, put it away in the box in this drawer, and gone out to go shopping. I did lock up..."  
  
    Nick looked into the drawer, which was now empty. He didn't see anything. He sniffed a bit.  
  
    "Anything?" Judy asked.  
  
    Nick shook his head. "Been too long, Carrots." Vivian tilted her head at the nickname.  
  
    "The case file says the thief likely entered through the second floor?"  
  
    "Ah yes, through the window in my room. Let me take you there." Vivian started to head upstairs and Nick went to follow, but then turned his head away and indicated Judy should go first after he caught a glimpse of Vivian's swishing fox tail. Judy flashed him an impish grin that he took great care not to look at. They headed up to her room, which was fairly nice looking except for the broken window. "I still haven't had a chance to replace the window yet."  
  
    "Have you found anything unusual in your room since then?" Judy asked.  
  
    "Nothing I've noticed," Vivian shrugged.  
  
    Nick started sniffing along the windowsill and then put his hands on it, bending over and pretending like he was going to climb out. It was Vivian's turn for her eyes to widen and turn away from the fox tail on display.  
  
    Judy stifled a giggle at both this and what Nick was doing. "What are you doing, Nick?"  
  
    "Just trust me, Carrots," Nick said. "If I was climbing out this window sill, my ankle would hit it about... here..." He dropped to the floor and looked long the carpet very carefully. "Ah ha! A hair!" He picked up the white hair very carefully and sniffed at it. "One single white hair. Can't tell what it is. Must have worn some sort of odor-blocker."  
  
    "I mean, that could be mine?" Vivian indicated her neck fur, which was white, compared to Nick's creamy peach neck fur.  
  
    "Maybe you could go sniff her and find out?" Judy offered with a tinge of playfulness.  
  
    "Carrots!" Nick said sternly. Vivian felt her ears grow warm. "No, no it's probably not Vivian's, er, Ms. Reddish's, unless she likes rubbing her neck along her windowsill. This fur probably came from a foot or an ankle once the thief moved it against the sill."  
  
    "So uh, did  _you_ smell anything weird once you knew you had been robbed?" Judy asked Vivian.  
  
    "Oh, yes," Vivian recalled, nodding. "But I thought it was just because the thief had left the door open. "I thought I smelled a faint trace of another female canid? I'm sure it wasn't me."  
  
    "Hmm," Nick placed the hair into a bag. "We'll have to run this. We'll at least get the species, if nothing else."  
  
    Vivian smiled. "This is exciting! Um, can I do anything else for you two?"  
  
    "I think we might be done for now actually, miss," Nick nodded. "We'll let you know what we find."  
  
    "Great!" Vivian said. The two officers left her house.  
  
    Judy flashed an enormous, toothy smile at Nick as they got into their cruiser. Nick heard her make a little squeak of glee.  
  
    "Dont. Say. Anything." Nick's ears were flat, and he did not meet her gaze.  
  


* * *

 

  
-Zootopia Police Department Headquarters, 11:27 AM-  
  
  
    Nick popped his head into Judy's cubicle the next day.  
  
    "White wolf."  
  
    "Excuse you?" Judy smirked, appending the Reddish case file.  
  
    "Results on the hair got back; it's a white wolf," Nick nodded.  
  
    "Oh!" Judy looked excited. "Do we know who it belongs to?"  
  
    "Nope," Nick shook his head. "Either she, assuming its a she, has never been caught or is a first time offender. No DNA on file."  
  
    "Darn," Judy threw her hand across her chest while snapping.  
  
    "Hey," Coonson called out from the next cubicle over, "how are you two doin' with the case you stole from me, uh?"  
  
    "Um, we're getting somewhere, we think?" Judy grinned, popping over to check how Coonson was doing. He was staring at security footage, still. "We're pretty sure our thief is a white wolf, probably female. How about you? Any luck?"  
  
    "I'm looking for a black bear," Coonson said in boredom. "He's attacked four separate pawn shops of late. Trying to check other footage to see if he cases the place before he hits it. A lot of these pawn shops still use crummy black and white cameras."  
  
    "There's a lot of bears there," Judy wrinkled her nose at one of the videos. "I can't tell if they're brown, black or what..."  
  
    "Really?" Coonson seemed surprised. "That one's brown, that ones black. That one's deeper brown. Easy." Judy looked befuddled.  
  
    "I had heard," Nick came in, holding his finger up, "that raccoons have the ability to see different shades of gray extremely easily to help with their night vision. This might be why Chief Buff put you on this case."  
  
    "That may be true," Coonson shrugged, then held his fingers up and rubbed them against each other. "But we 'coons are also very tactile. It's so boring to just sit here and stare at a computer screen. I wanna be out there."  
  
    "Mm," Judy nodded. "Well Nick, maybe we should ask around at a few pawn shops ourselves to see if any white wolves have tried to sell a collection of seven rings."  
  
    "Good plan," Nick nodded.  
  
    "See ya on the footage," Coonson waved rather grumpily.  
  


* * *

 

 

-Mezzo Park, 1:07 PM-  
  
  
    "We've checked basically every pawn shop in Savanna Central by now," Judy complained as she and Nick walked through the park three days later, still on duty. "Not one animal has seen a white wolf or anyone else for that matter try to sell even  _one_ of those rings by their description."  
  
    "The criminal would be smart not to sell them all at once," Nick agreed. "Perhaps they want to keep them for themselves? Or sit on them for awhile until they're sure the trail is cold."  
  
    "I just hope they haven't skipped to another section of Zootopia," Judy showed her teeth.  
  
    "So what are we doing in the park, again?" Nick wondered.  
  
    "Well, Ms. Reddish is probably at her stand today, I wanted to ask her something," Judy explained, getting a notepad ready.  
  
    "What's that?"  
  
    "Well, think about it," Judy went on. "She has seven rings, one for each day of the week. She wore a different one each day. So that means..." Judy waited for Nick.  
  
    "Oh!" Nick pointed at her with both forefingers. "Since the rings were the only thing stolen, the criminal was probably someone who had known she had seven different rings to steal!"  
  
    "Right!" Judy nodded. She looked around towards the center of the park. "Oh, is that her over there?" Judy wandered over swiftly to Vivian's fruit cart. Nick followed at his normal pace.  
  
    "Hello, Ms. Reddish!" Judy waved cheerfully. Vivian looked down to meet her gaze.  
  
    "Oh, Officer Hopps was it?" Vivian smiled over at Nick next. "And Officer Wilde. Good to see you! Oh, and please just call me Vivian." Nick took in a slightly deeper breath.  
  
    "I had a question for you!" Judy said rather proudly. "So, we were wondering if you had any repeat customers lately, before you were robbed."  
  
    "I do get several repeat customers," Vivian nodded. "I'm afraid I can't remember them all."  
  
    "How about one who visited you at least once on each day of the week?" Nick offered.  
  
    "Let me think," Vivian looked contemplative, then gasped slightly. "A white wolf female! Just about Officer Wilde's height and build. Never got her name... she ordered a different drink each day for a week, then was gone."  
  
    "I don't suppose she..." Judy looked at Vivian's menu, giving a slight grin with her eyes narrowed and tilting her head, "ordered a drink each day that corresponded with the gem on your ring...?"  
  
    Vivian looked incredulous. "Well, now I feel kind of stupid, really..."  
  
    "Oh, don't," Nick held up a hand. "Sometimes you need an outside influence to give you a different perspective."  
  
    "Hey, can I get you two some drinks, anyway?" Vivian smiled.  
  
    "Ooh, can I try the orange smoothie?" Judy grinned.  
  
    "Hm, I'll try the blueberry slush," Nick said after considering.  
  
    "Coming up!" Vivian chirped. Both fox and bunny reached into their wallets.  
  
    "I got it," said Nick nonchalantly.  
  
    "I got it," Judy retorted firmly.  
  
    "How about neither of you got it?" Vivian giggled, pushing the drinks forward. "You are helping me with such a frivolous little thing after all."  
  
    "Uh, well we haven't come up with much yet," Judy admitted. "Maybe save doing us any favors till we get you your rings back."  
  
    "I got it!" Nick said excitedly and slammed the money on the counter. "Boom." He clicked his teeth and pointed at Judy. Judy looked offended.  
  
    "Grr..." She frowned at him. Nick smiled broadly. Vivian took the money, grinning at their interaction.  
  
    Nick took a sip. "So was there anything in particular notable about the white wolf?"  
  
    "Hm," Vivian tried to recall. "She was taciturn, barely said anything, somewhat emotionless. She was always sharply dressed, had a dainty scarf on each time that came down the front... some sort of gold pin on her collar I think? I think it was a chevron."  
  
    "Ooh, okay, this is more to go on," Judy excitedly scribbled in her notepad. "What day after she vanished were you robbed?"  
  
    "Hm... a week later, I think?" Vivian thought.  
  
    "To the day...?" Judy pursued. Vivian nodded.  
  
    "This is good information, Vivian. I think for now we will bid you adieu," Nick gave a small salute.  
  
    "Bye! Thanks for dropping in!" Vivian smiled, waving.  
  
    "So, a weeks worth of ring-watching," Nick said, holding out a finger as he sipped his drink, then added another, "a week after that, she strikes."  
  
    "She stole seven rings," Judy nodded, sipping her drink hard. "Do you think she might have some sort of obsession with the number?"  
  
    "I was taught to never believe in coincidences," Nick nodded.  
  
    "We should see if there's any other 'seven' connections we can make; see if that will perhaps lead us to another connected robbery or where she might try to sell the rin- _GAOUCH_!" Judy cringed, holding her paw up to her left eye.  
  
    "Did a bee get you?" Nick looked concerned, but then his eyes narrowed. "Oh no, it was a brain freeze wasn't it? That's my partner, always jumping into things too fast."  
  
    "Oh, hush your muzzle..." Judy whined in pain.  
  


* * *

 

  
-Zootopia Police Department Headquarters, 2:27 PM-  
  
  
    Nick hovered over Judy at her cubicle. They were looking though several physical and digital case files of unsolved robberies.  
  
    "None of these stand out to me," Judy complained, "you can start to see sevens everywhere you look if you try hard enough. My coffee this morning cost 3.27!"  
  
    "Just gotta keep looking," Nick nodded, shuffling papers, "there's gotta be something that stands out. No way some obsessive-compulsive kleptomaniac only strikes once."  
  
    "Hey!" Coonson yelled from the next cubicle over. "Y'ain't talking about a raccoon, are you?"  
  
    "No, Coonson," Judy grumbled. "We're looking for a white wolf, remember?"  
  
    "White wolf?" Coonson straightened up in his chair. "Hey, that reminds me. I saw something weird on the past few days of footage I got on this one store called the Paw Pawn." Both Nick and Judy curiously scrambled into his cubicle. He flinched. "Uh, nice to see you too?"  
  
    "Can you show us?" Judy asked.  
  
    "I thought the footage was glitching or something because I saw the same thing on five different tapes of the last five days," Coonson brought up five videos. In them, a sharply dressed white wolf came inside, looked around, then left. "Kinda suspicious, right? This white wolf. Know she's not a light gray cause of the ol' 'coon eyes." He pointed to his eyes with two fingers. "She came in at seven each night, looked around for about seven minutes, then left. I thought she might be casing the place but..."  
  
    Nick's eyes went wide. "She  _is_ casing the place! Tonight's footage would make number six... and then..."  
  
    "She's going to sell the rings on the seventh night! Has to!" Judy gasped.  
  
    "Where's this pawn shop?" Nick asked Coonson.  
  
    "Hang on a sec," Coonson looked it up on the Internet and pulled up the map.  
  
    Nick's jaw hung open. "Seventy-seventh street..."  
  
    "No way! NO WAY!" Judy hopped up and down twice, waving her hands in front of her mouth in excitement. "We  _have_ to go there tomorrow night!"  
  
    "Jeffy, ol' buddy, you might have just solved your old case after all," Nick smirked proudly.  
  
    "Uh, you're welcome?" Coonson shrugged in equal parts haughtiness and confusion.  
  


* * *

 

  
-Outside the Paw Pawn, 6:57 PM-  
  
  
    Nick and Judy hid just around the corner of the building. There was a torrential downpour that evening; one could barely see even with the street lights.  
  
    "It's raining cats and dogs," Judy looked a bit worried.  
  
    "Hopefully at least dogs," Nick smirked.  
  
    "Think she'll show?" Judy seemed unsure.  
  
    "With a twist this solid?" Nick shook his head. "Carrots, I think it could be HAILING and she'd still show."  
  
    Sure enough, a white wolf appeared, heading under the awning of the pawn shop and closing her black umbrella, gently shaking it off.  
  
    Judy checked her phone. "Seven on the nose. Uncanny." Both she and Nick moved in.  
  
    "Hello!" Judy said cheerfully. "I'm Judy Hopps, and this is my partner Nick Wilde, I'd like to ask you if- GUH!" The wolf suddenly swung hard at Judy with an upward motion of her umbrella, striking her on the side. The force sent her back, spinning once in the air, and she landed on her rear on the sidewalk. Nick gasped, holding his hand to his stun gun's holster.  
  
    "ZPD, freeze!" Nick shouted at her. "Grgh!" The wolf opened the umbrella in his face and pushed to temporarily stun him. The opening motion made him drop the weapon he was drawing. She released the umbrella towards Nick and made off for the alley. Nick recovered before Judy and ran after her. Judy got up as quickly as she could manage, rubbing her side.  
  
    "Oww..." she moaned, picking up Nick's stun gun and running off after them. She hobbled a bit but her adrenaline quickly dulled her pain and she reached a good speed. As she got into the opening of the parking lot, she felt a shot of panic. The blinding rain and indistinct lighting shadowed the two canids. Judy saw punches thrown and claws swipe. She heard canid yelps and growls from both of them through the dull roar of the rain. But the wolf's build was so similar to Nick's, and her scarf looked almost exactly like Nick's tie. Judy couldn't make the two out. She kept trying to edge closer with her weapon drawn, but the fight kept seeming to pull away from her.  
  
    "I got this, Carrots!" Nick said from the fight. Judy's rain-soaked ears twitched as she desperately aimed for the opposite shadow, but they swirled around each other a few times and she lost track again. "Don't shoot, please! You'll hit me!"  
  
    "Nick...!?" Judy tried to edge closer again, flinching when she saw punches land on both sides. She saw muzzles pushed aside from the blows and fangs bare in anger.  
  
    "Almost got her!" Nick groaned.  
      
    "I can't just do nothing!" Judy shrieked, trying not to panic. Her hands were trembling around Nick's stun gun.  
  
    "Ngh! Get a muzzle ready!" Nick shouted at her.  
  
    Judy nodded, quickly setting Nick's gun on the asphalt. She pulled out a muzzle from her utility packs. She glared at the fight, trying to focus. One of the shadows flinched as a claw slash landed on their shoulder, then the other figure started to hold both of the injured canid's hands behind them.  
  
    "Now, Judy! DO IT!" Nick yelled.  
  
    Judy gasped as her first name was called out; it instantaneously drove her to action. She sprang forward at the canid figures, but right before she hit the subdued shadow, it dropped its head sharply. Judy barely had time to process this as she landed on its back and the muzzle fit cleanly over...  
  
    ...The white wolf!  
  
    Judy let loose a small noise of surprise, but quickly secured the muzzle in less than a second as she had practiced at least a hundred times. The wolf was also surprised and stunned into inaction for just one second.  
  
    "Jump!" Nick commanded. Judy listened immediately, leaping high off his back. Just in time, too, the wolf had recovered her wits and furiously slashed at where the rabbit was with both hands. Nick grit his teeth, seeing her wild slash shift her balance, and he swept his leg at her ankles from his crouching position.  
  
    "Aaagh!" The wolf cried out as her legs were taken out from under her and she fell onto the asphalt. She immediately tried to regain her balance, pushing up with her hands, but Judy landed directly on her back. Focusing all her weight on it, the wolf crashed back to the ground.  
  
    "Gotcha!" Nick smirked, whipping out cuffs and arresting the fallen wolf.  
  
    "Well!" Judy panted. "I don't know what you  _think_ we were going to talk to you about, but  _now_ you're under arrest for assaulting a police officer!" The wolf growled. Judy went to get Nick's weapon and returned it to his holster. The two then got the wolf up and escorted her under the awning.  
  
    "I think protocol dictates that  _you_ need to pat her down," Nick smirked, holding the wolf steady. Judy punched her fist into her other hand, then started rather roughly patting her down. As she did, Judy noticed her gold pin on her outfit's collar. It was, of course, the number seven. She recovered her wallet and a medium-sized black box.  
  
    "So, Luna Circlet, is it?" Judy grinned. She popped open the box. "Ooh and look at _this_ , Nick! Seven rings, each with a different colored gemstone!"  
  
    Nick gasped facetiously, "For me, Luna? You shouldn't have! I'm afraid I can't accept though. Kinda married to the job."  
  
    "Bite me," Luna offered in a low voice.  
  
    "Love to!" Nick sneered. "Might get in trouble, though."  
  
    "I won't tell," Judy grinned. Nick resisted the slight temptation, and shoved Luna into the back of their cruiser. Judy wordlessly drew in a slurping breath as she saw Nick's wounds.  
  
    "Eh, all superficial, I bet," Nick shrugged. He didn't seem like he was in a lot of pain. He sighed as he relaxed in their cruiser. "Thanks for trusting me enough to not shoot at us with the gun. I was already taking a beating, I didn't need to have current shooting through my body as well."  
  
    Judy smiled at him. "Well, thank you for trusting  _me_ enough to let me come right at you with a muzzle! I know that can't have been easy, especially for you..."  
  
    Luna made a gagging noise. "Oh SEVEN HEAVENS! Would one of you PLEASE just SEDATE me?"  
  
    Nick and Judy shot each other quite a malicious look as Judy started the cruiser.  
  
    "Oh, who's my bestest widdle foxy partner in the whole wide world?" Judy cooed in an extremely condescending voice.  
  
    Nick gasped, and matched her voice. "Is that me? And who's my bravest, strongest, most tail-kicking widdle bunny that ever did exist?"  
  
    "Aww, that's _me_ , isn't it?" Judy looked bright. Now Luna actually looked like she was gagging. "Aw, and did that mean ol' Luna give you some boo-boos? We'll have to go to the medic and make you all better!"  
  
    "Okay, don't push it," Nick laughed in his normal voice.  
  
    "I'm serious, though," Judy dropped her voice as well. "Please don't bleed all over my cruiser."  
  
    "I'll try, jeez!" Nick chuckled. "We can always get it cleaned. So! Luna! Were you going to try to sell the rings for 777 bucks apiece, or the whole set for 7777?"  
  
    Luna just laid sideways on the back seat of the police cruiser, looking extremely exasperated.  
  


* * *

 

  
-Zootopia Police Department Headquarters, 1:47 PM-  
  
  
    Another week had passed. The ZPD temporarily held onto Vivian Reddish's rings to see if they could connect Luna Circlet to any more robberies. Nick visited Judy at her cubicle, wearing a bunch of bandages from his superficial claw wounds.  
  
    "Still?" Judy narrowed one eye and winced. "You look like you're auditioning for the lead role in Anubis Arisen."  
  
    "They usually give that part to a jackal," Nick chuckled. "Oh, Delgato and Fangmeyer got the warrant to go raid Ms. Circlet's abode. Wanna see the pictures?"  
  
    "Do I ever!" Judy grinned. Nick threw a few of the pictures on her desk. The inside of her apartment was quite unusual, filled with the circles of jewelry hanging from the ceiling by small chains. "Wow, so weird! Kinda pretty, in a way."  
  
    Nick threw another picture down. "Lottery tickets with only sevens filled in; even a book called 'how the number seven changed my life'. Wow. What a piece of work." Nick shook his head.  
  
    "Hey Nick," Judy tilted her head, "I haven't seen Officer Coonson around. I was going to thank him for giving us such a big break on his case. He kinda stole it back from us, huh?" Nick shook his head to say he hadn't seen him, but nodded at the assessment that Coonson had helped.  
  
    "Nor will you see Officer Coonson around in the future, not around here anyway," Chief Bogo happened by their cubicle and stopped to talk.  
  
    "Did you... fire him?" Judy's eyes widened.  
  
    "No!" Bogo looked displeased. "He asked for, and I granted, a transfer to the Rainforest District Police Department. Hmhm. I don't know if he thinks Chief Bagheera will be any less strict than I. He may be in for a surprise."  
  
    Judy grit her teeth. "If I may, sir, I think he might have felt chased off because you took him off an assignment involving stolen goods."  
  
    Chief Bogo's expression became dangerous. "Watch your tiny mouth, Hopps. You of all people should know I have learned better than to underestimate my people. I put him on an important case where his help was most valuable. He led us to the criminal, and he might have saved lives in the process. You two are the ones that should be insulted that I sent you out hunting baubles instead of trying to protect the pawn shop cashiers of this district."  
  
    "Then... why did he want to leave?" Judy was baffled.  
  
    "Some people are looking for reasons to be offended, Hopps," Bogo grunted, folding his arms. "Sometimes they find them even when there are none. For what it's worth, I'm glad you stuck with me despite how I treated you initially. Some mammal's skin isn't as thick as yours."  
  
    Judy gave a small smile as Bogo stomped off. She then turned to Nick. "Well,  _you_ were quiet."  
  
    "And miss one word of my partner's ears getting chewed off?" Nick smirked.  
  
    "Oh, har har," Judy rolled her eyes up and moved them from side to side. "So, I think that about wraps it up for this case. Do you want to go return Vivian's rings?"  
  
    "Do I want to go return a young vixen her seven lovely rings?" Nick pretended to be contemplative. "I think that would be a bad idea."  
  
    "Well, if you're going to make me do it, come with me at least," Judy said brightly, then chirped musically: "You are my partner!"  
  
    "Fine..." Nick relented, his eyes squeezing shut and fists balling.  
  


* * *

 

  
-Meadow Street, Vivian's House, 7:17 PM-  
  
  
    Vivian looked a bit surprised to see the fox and the bunny at her door, both looking quite pleased with themselves.  
  
    "Oh Vivian, look at what  _we_ found!" Judy sang, presenting the box with all seven of Vivian's rings.  
  
    Vivian gasped. "You  _found_ them? Oh my gosh!" She took the rings from Judy's offering hands gently. "Thank you! They mean so much to me!" She took the box and set them down on a counter, then looked at both of them in jubilation, wondering how to express her thanks. Nick pointed offhandedly at Judy.  
  
    "Woah!" Judy yelped as Vivian lifted her off the ground briefly in a hug. "Uh, pleased to serve!" Vivian set her down, and offered a tender smile to Nick.  
  
    "Thank you so much..." Vivian's voice was gentle and pleasant. "I'm so grateful that the ZPD was willing to help me with such a trivial thing."  
  
    "Crime is always serious, Vivian," Nick nodded humbly. "By taking down that criminal, we were led to a bunch of other stolen goods. We were happy to help."  
  
    "Well, I hope you two won't be strangers at my cart!" Vivian smiled brightly. "Come by if you're ever thirsty; I'll give you whatever you'd like!"  
  
    "Hear that, Carrots?" Nick grinned at her briefly. "More brain freezes, just for you!" Judy shot him a look of playful scorn. Nick and Vivian then shared one small look, their muzzles displaying just about the same amount of smile. Judy became contemplative; the wheels in her bunny head were turning.  
  
    "I guess I shouldn't wear those rings to the park anymore," Vivian chuckled a little. "But I am very thankful for your help. See you later?"  
  
    "Bye!" They both said their goodbyes, and Nick finally noticed the shrewd look on Judy's face as they headed back to the cruiser. His own face became wary.  
  
    "Fluff, whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it."  
      
    Judy's eyes were narrow, and she just grinned.


End file.
